Newsletter - 12-01-07

The Dailies

You shoulda seen the size of the two hunks o' roast beef I picked up the other day from the Westin San Francisco Market Street Hotel (formerly the Argent). They were whole hind quarters of premium cow, each one about the size of a beagle and each weighing in at, I'm guessing 30 pounds. Neither had been touched by knife or fork at all. Expertly encrusted with peppercorns and clearly braised to perfection, following a night in the walk in, each roast sat several inches deep in a congealed, gelatinous goo which looked as if it would heat right up and melt right down into a splendid clear jus. After recovering from my amazement at Food Runners good fortune, I stood scratching my head over how I might transport the beasts to their intended shelters when Chef Michael sidled up to me slish-slashing his carving knife against a steel honing stick. He sliced the mammoth hunks into thirds, revealing their luscious pink tenderness, whilst making the pieces flat enough to fit into foil hotel pans. After the chunks were safely packed and covered, I slid the two weighty pans into a rolling rack containing 12 additional pans ready for donation. The other pans held such items as chicken fajitas, fresh green beans, fresh asparagus, bacon, ham, breakfast sausage, crepes, potatoes and more. Beautiful, beautiful, wonderfully prepared food, leftover from the previous day's dinner and breakfast buffets for a large group. Hotel pans hold a lot of food. Enough for thirty or more servings depending on the item. By the time I'd packed everything into my mini van, including a coupla bakery boxes full of croissants and various other morning pastry fare, I'd say I had a minimum of 300 pounds of top quality, professionally prepared food that, back in the days before Food Runners existed, would have been thrown away. The Westin San Francisco Market Street Hotel donates to Food Runners on a daily basis. They've been doing so for many years . The donation I picked up on Thursday was not atypical. Buffets for large groups, of which the Westin does many, often generate good amounts of excess food due to a high volume of no-shows. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, in addition to the usual daily donation, the Westin threw in 90 turkeys that were originally slated for hotel employees who never claimed them. Just think of how many more homeless and marginally housed folks got a small taste of the kind of feast that most of us take for granted on Thanksgiving Day than would have before were it not for Food Runners and the Westin San Francisco Market Street Hotel. Just think of how many more homeless and marginally housed people get something nutritious in their bellies every day than would have before were it not for Food Runners and the Westin San Francisco Market Street Hotel. Twenty years ago, Food Runners founder Mary Risley had a brilliant, simple idea. Twenty years later, its working better than ever thanks to Food Runners volunteers and food service professionals who care like the ones at the Westin San Francisco Market Street Hotel.

Food Runners picked up and delivered 114,610 pounds of food in the month of November. Volunteers performed 779 runs and the truck did 271. Food Runners welcomed an astonishing 72 new volunteers in the past few weeks following an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, an article in Daily Candy and a live interview on 91.7FM with Food Runners founder Mary Risley on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

'Tis the season of plenty for most of us and the season of not much for too many. If you see your local restaurant, bakery or grocery store throwing away food or your office is over ordering lunch, tell them about Food Runners. Donating edible, nutritious perishable and prepared food is just a phone call away.

Happy Holidays,

Nancy

* Restaurants participating in Food Runners Planned Overage Program prepare and donate a main course for 25-30 people, once a week, specifically for Food Runners to deliver to a shelter.

Volunteer Today

Donate Money

Donate Food